Francja

The Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy has just published a brand new comic book called ’Partners’ which aims at presenting Regional and Urban Policy through six stories designed to appeal to a young audience. The themes covered in this album are Research & Innovation, Urban Development, Environment, Support to SMEs, Social Inclusion, ICT, Cooperation between regions, Transport, Solidarity between regions in case of natural disasters, etc. These slices of life and stories of men and women were inspired by real EU-funded projects that illustrate the European Union’s contribution to reducing differences in standards of living and supporting the regions in their development. This comic is available in FR, EN and NL and can be ordered via EU Bookshop

EU regional policy helps European regions to advance together. It boosts economic growth, competitiveness and job creation – by investing billions of Euros each year, in thousands of innovative and ambitious projects throughout Europe. On March 31st, the Regiostars awards will honour 19 finalists, divided in 4 categories, and choose as winners the most inspirational and innovative EU-funded projects across the Member States.

01/10/2011In this video portrait, Françoise Lartillot, professor and researcher at Paul Verlaine University in Metz, explains to us how the UGR project has changed the way she works. The UGR project in particular enables her and other researchers to develop joint projects. She sees the UGR as a very rewarding project, notably through its open human approach.

01/10/2011The University of the Greater Region (UGR) project brings together seven universities in four different countries. Through the UGR project, students, researchers and professors from these university institutions are able to explore new work and study prospects as well as new research networks, while gaining firsthand experiences of other languages and diverse cultures, thus laying the foundations for a truly European university.
The administrative, legal and financial issues raised by the UGR project could lead to the development of solutions that may one day be used by all European universities, thus removing knowledge barriers and at the same time promoting cultural diversity, something highly valued by European citizens.

01/05/2010This video showcases the RegioStars 2010 winner in the “Broadband coverage in less developed regions or rural areas” category.
Broadband coverage is a central element when it comes to guaranteeing competitiveness in the world today. In more sparsely populated regions, private telecommunications operators are often reticent about shouldering the risk of investing in what are commonly referred to as “white zones”. Faced with this challenge, the Auvergne region established a public/private partnership (PPP) in 2005 to extend broadband coverage to all homes. The project was finalised in early 2009.

05/01/2010Portrait of Gaël Romier and Cécile Hesse, professional photographers in the Auvergne region. Active in the field of contemporary art, they decided a few years ago to pursue their chosen profession in the countryside. Living in a sparsely populated valley, without EU regional policy assistance in particular they would not have had access to high speed broadband, which is an essential tool for their daily work.
This video was produced as part of the “Auvergne high speed broadband” project, RegioStars 2010 winner in the “Broadband coverage in less developed regions or rural areas” category.

02/01/2009This video showcases the project led by Alain Orriols to develop a station producing photovoltaic energy at Saint-Pierre on Reunion Island. The station produces electricity from panels located on three buildings which are connected to a transformer. By adapting existing techniques to a tropical environment, this project has enabled the island to take a big step towards self-sufficiency in electricity production while also creating local jobs.

02/01/2008This video showcases the Energivie project, launched in 2003 in Alsace. The project, which has received support and recognition from the European Union, is aimed at expanding the share of renewable sources of energy across the region, in both factories and people’s homes.